Sociological Meanings of Basic Concepts

Lecture Notes

Immigration and the United States

Chapter 4

Immigration and the United States

The history of the United States is the history of immigration.

Immigration in the U.S. was at its highest during the 1880-1920 period.

Xenophobia The fear of strangers or foreigners.

Nativism beliefs and policies favoring native-born citizens over immigrants.

Catholics and Irish Immigrants

Catholics in general and the Irish immigrants were the first Europeans to be ill-treated.

Irish did not suffer their maltreatment in silence.

To many whites, the Irish were worst than Blacks because the Blacks at least knew their place.

Chinese Immigrants

Sinophobes People who fear anything associated with China.

White settlers found Chinese immigrants and their customs and religion difficult to understand.

Railroad provided the greatest demand for Chinese labor in the 1860s.

In 1882 Congress enacted the Chinese Exclusion Act which outlawed Chinese immigration for 10 years.

The National Origin System

Attempt at blocking the growing immigration from southern European countries such as from Italy and Greece.

Gave preference to English speaking people from Western Europe.

The 1965 Immigration and Naturalization Act

The goals of this act were to reunite families and protect the American labor market.

It also listed the rules for becoming a citizen of the United States or Naturalization.

The Brain Drain

The Brain Drain is the immigration to the United States of skilled workers, professionals, and technicians who are needed by their home countries.

We protest immigration but we do not mind as long as it is someone making a valuable contribution to our society.

Population Growth

In the 1990s legal immigration accounted for one fourth of the nations growth.

California is the most extreme case of projected growth. It is expected to grow from 32 million people in 1995 to more than 49 million people by 2025.

Illegal Immigration

Illegal immigrants and their families come to this country in search of higher-paying jobs than their home countries can provide.

Most immigrants work in jobs that many U.S. born citizens do not want.

The majority of illegal immigrants in the U.S. come from Mexico.

In 2002 there were more than 8 Million illegal immigrants in the U.S.

The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986

Hiring of illegal immigrants became illegal and provided fines and prison sentences to employers who did not comply.

Also made it illegal for employers to discriminate against legal immigrants because of their not being U.S. citizens.

Economic Impact of Immigration

In some areas, heavy immigration can drain community resources.

In some areas, immigration may be an economic burden and create unwanted competition for jobs.

On a positive note, Immigrants can help revitalize the local economy in some instances.

California’s Proposition 187

An attempt to reduce illegal immigration by denying illegal immigrants public schools, public assistance programs, and non-emergency medical care.

59% of California voters approved it in 1994.

After its approval it was challenged in a federal appeals court which ruled it was unconstitutional.

Refugees

Refugees are people living outside their country of citizenship for fear of political or religious persecution.

Refugee status is granted in the U.S. to people fleeing from political or religious persecution.

Refugees from Mexico, Haiti, Liberia fleeing from poverty or economic reasons are not similarly welcomed.

Chapters

CHAPTER 4 IMMIGRATION AND THE UNITED STATES

To a large extent, the history of the United States is the history of immigration. The three patterns of immigration (number, settlement, and source) are discussed. Immigration was mostly unregulated until the passage of the 1882 Exclusion Act forbidding the entry of people from China. However, reception of immigrants was always filled with conflict; as illustrated by the Anti-Catholic Crusade. The establishment of nationality quotas in the 1920s irrevocably affected the composition of the nations White ethnic population.

Contemporary policies favor relatives and skilled migrants. The latter raises the issue of the brain drain which conflict theorists see as an example of unequal distribution of world resources. The most debated aspect of U.S. immigration policy is illegal immigration management which has been transformed since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

While this chapter explores the voluntary immigration of people to the United States, we must emphasize social forces that make voluntary immigration involuntary (push factors) as well as why the migrants selected the United States (pull factors). Consideration of the different immigrant statuses (e.g. transnationals, refugees, and asylees) covered in the text would contribute to this focus. Note the extent to which the Haitian boat people have been received unfavorably and dealt with harshly by immigration legislation.